Backstage: JoJo is in the interview area alongside Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer & The Dudleys. Bubba says most people would think their tables match tonight would give them an advantage, but as we’ve seen that’s not the case with The Wyatts. Tonight will be a war and who better to go to war with than Rhyno & Dreamer. Tommy talks about getting the call from Bubba and being excited to stand by their side. Age is just a number and it’s time for them to get extreme once again. D-Von speaks about one sound being heard around the world and that will be the sound of four tables cracking. “Oh testify!”

Match #4 is an Elimination Tables Match: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper & Erick Rowan) vs. Rhyno, Tommy Dreamer & The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von)
It’s a 4 on 4 staredown, the bell goes off and the melee is on, Dreamer gets dumped to the outside so he goes under the ring and inserts the weapons. Trash can shots to the head of The Wyatts follow and the ring is cleared, fists and weapon shots are flying all over the place, Braun pushes a trash can into Bubba’s face, then levels Dreamer & Rhyno on the floor with shoulder tackles. Bubba props a table up in the corner, Strowman slides in and drops him with a clothesline, then squashes a trash can over his back, Bubba using the table to pull himself to his feet.

The Black Sheep rushes in for a big boot, Bubba side-steps it and Braun’s foot goes through the table, Bubba grabbing a trash can and hammering Strowman to the back of the head. His partners comes in to deliver more weapons shots, Rowan hits the ring, lays out The Man Beast with a big boot, slams Dreamer and flattens D-Von with a spinning heel kick, cleaning out the squared circle. He sets the table with his name on it up, lays D-Von across it and heads to the top, Rhyno climbs to the apron and pushes him, sending Rowan flipping over the table to the mat. The Innovator Of Violence spikes him with a DDT, The Dudleys set another table and connect with 3D through it to take the early advantage. Erick Rowan has been eliminated.

The remaining Wyatts ambush their opponents from behind, Harper & Bray double-teaming Rhyno in the ring, Harper with a sit-out slam, The New Face Of Fear following with a senton. Bray directs Strowman to hand them a table, they prop it in the corner, The Man Beast fights his way out of the corner, side-steps Wyatt charging in and drives a shoulder to the breadbasket, then catches Harper with a back elbow. He plants them both with belly to belly suplexes, has Bray set for a Gore through the table, but The Eater Of Worlds has it scouted and prevents it with a flying forearm. Harper makes Rhyno pay with a running big boot, The Man Beast crashes through the table and his night is finished. Rhyno has been eliminated.

D-Von slides in after Harper, Luke reverses an irish whip to the ropes, D-Von with multiple shoulder tackles, then slams the big man. He goes to the high rent district, Harper meets him with an uppercut, climbs up and Bubba comes in from behind. He puts Harper on his shoulders, The Dudleys connect with the Dudleyville Device, Braun drags Bubba to the outside, Bray slides in and D-Von drops him with a back elbow. He heads to the floor to bring in another table, sets it up, Wyatt pops up into the Spider Crawl behind him, driving D-Von through the table with a uranage. D-Von Dudley has been eliminated.

The Wyatts have the numbers now, Bubba gets tossed in the ring and he’s facing 3 on 1, Dreamer slides in and tosses him a kendo stick, cleaning Harper & Bray out of the ring. They unleash a flurry of shots to Braun, clothesline him over the top with the kendo sticks, then set up the table with his name on it. Dreamer finds a cheese grater under the ring and hits The Black Sheep with a low blow, taking multiple tables with Bubba and burying the big man under them. The Innovator of Violence rolls into the squared circle, Harper meets him with a spinning sidewalk slam, Dreamer rolls outside and Harper hits the ropes, flying with a suicide dive that sends Tommy through a table. Tommy Dreamer has been eliminated.

Bubba’s left by himself, slides into the ring, Harper is there to meet him, but Bubba plants him with a big uranage. He gets his hands on a kendo stick, Bray rolls in from behind, grabs him for Sister Abigail, but Bubba smacks him in the back of the head with the kendo stick to avoid it. He unloads with more kendo shots, plants a boot to Wyatt’s chin, then gets a table ready in the ring. He rolls outside, goes under the ring and pulls out a liter and liter fluid, covering the table in the ring. He readies Wyatt for a powerbomb, goes to light the table and gets clocked by a superkick, Strowman sliding in with a chokeslam through the table for the win.
Winners: The Wyatt Family

• EA’s Take: A very solid gimmick match here that went exactly as I expected it and rightfully so. The Wyatts come out looking strong which is the intent of this entire feud, they really need to get things going again after being made to look foolish by Taker & Kane. The booking of this group continues to baffle me, they should be having such a larger impact on the show.

In The Arena: Our Kickoff Panel comprised of Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves & Booker T breaks down what we’ve seen so far tonight and preview what’s left to come, including our main event.

Match #5 for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Owens quickly goes for a right hand at the bell, the challenger ducks it and unloads on him in the corner with rights and lefts, then rakes his face across the ropes. The Lunatic Fringe stomps away in the corner, KO reverses a whip across and follows in, Ambrose hops up and over, hits the ropes and gets leveled by a back elbow. The Prize Fighter hits the ropes and runs into a crossbody, Dean hammering away with right hands, charges the champion in the corner with a forearm and attempts a running bulldog. Owens pushes him away, Ambrose goes sternum-first into the turnbuckles and The Prize Fighter clobbers him with a clothesline to the back of the head.

KO takes control, stomping away and choking the challenger against the ropes, clubs him in the back and grabs a rear chinlock. The Lunatic Fringe powers his way up, breaks the hold and fires away with fists, hitting the ropes and gets caught on Owens’ shoulders. Dean slips out of it, hits the ropes and gets tossed by a belly to belly suplex, the champion covers for a count of 2, then delivers a basement clothesline for another 2 count. He goes back to the rear chinlock and grounds the challenger, Ambrose works his way to his feet, planting KO with a back suplex to break the hold. Both guys stagger up and bump back to back, Dean tries to capitalize with Dirty Deeds, KO counters out and sends him to the ropes, The Lunatic Fringe taking him out with a flying forearm.

He clotheslines the champion over the top to the floor, hits the ropes and takes to the air with a suicide dive, then drives Owens into the barricade. He looks to roll the champion back in, KO counters, Dean reverses course and comes back out, but KO deposits him into the barricade with a fallaway slam, following with a senton. He throws the challenger into the timekeeper’s area, slides back into the squared circle, the referee starts the count and Dean crawls back into the ring at 9. The Prize Fighter attempts another senton, Ambrose gets the knees up, builds momentum with punches and chops, hits the ropes and runs into a stiff forearm.

The Lunatic Fringe rebounds off the ropes with a Lunatic Lariat, goes to the top turnbuckle for the diving elbow, KO catches him and counters with a german suplex. He sets his sights on the Cannonball, Dean avoids it, heads back up top and scores with the diving elbow for a near fall. The challenger props Owens on the top turnbuckle for a hurricanrana, The Prize Fighter powers Dean to his shoulders, plants him with a rolling fireman’s carry from the 2nd rope, covers and Ambrose kicks out at 2. KO can’t believe it, yells to Cole at the announce table, looks for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, Ambrose countering to Dirty Deeds. The champion slips out and attempts the Pop-Up Powerbomb again, Dean avoids it, spikes him with Dirty Deeds and Owens barely reaches the bottom rope at a count of 2.

The Lunatic Fringe shreds his shirt and aggressively goes after Owens near the ropes, the referee steps in to create the break and the champion takes the opening, connecting with a superkick for a near fall. He sends the challenger to the ropes for the Pop-Up Powerbomb, Ambrose counters into a hurricanrana, hooks both legs and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion: Dean Ambrose

• EA’s Take: I’m a little shocked by the title change here, Owens has only been champion for a couple months. Either way an excellent showing here, a little surprising this wasn’t a gimmick match, but I’d imagine this rivalry will continue into the new year and perhaps WrestleMania. I would have no issue with this, I do think that the IC Title will be defended in a multi-man ladder match like last year, so Ambrose/Owens could certainly be stretched out until you start adding in more challengers.

Match #6 for the WWE Divas Championship: Paige vs. WWE Divas Champion Charlotte w/Ric Flair
Charlotte offers a handshake, Paige slaps her hand away and the champion blindsides her with a forearm, stomping away in the corner. She drives the challenger into the top turnbuckle, mocks her and Paige turns the tables, putting the boots to Charlotte in the corner. She heads to the apron, pulls the champion’s head through and delivers a flurry of knees, then mocks Flair outside. The Anti-Diva shoots Charlotte to the ropes for a back body drop, the champion has it scouted and scores with a kick, hits the ropes for a big boot, the challenger ducks it and connects with a superkick. Charlotte does the trademark Flair fall, Paige tosses her to the outside, then mocks the Flair strut in the ring.

She goes out after her, Flair steps in between to stop it, Charlotte rushes back in the ring, Paige follows and The Nature Boy provides a distraction, allowing the champion to bury a knee into the breadbasket. She drags the challenger back inside and drops numerous knees for a 1 count, then chokes the challenger with her shin while arguing with the ref. Charlotte chokes her some more on the bottom rope, rushes the challenger in the corner, Paige gets in a back elbow, puts the boots up to catch the champion again, Charlotte countering into a rope assisted neckbreaker for a count of 2. She goes to a chinlock to ground the challenger, Paige fights her way up, but gets slammed to the canvas by the hair for another 2 count.

Charlotte exposes her knee and drops it across the forehead for a near fall, lifts Paige onto her shoulder for a slam, the challenger sliding onto the champion’s back and locking on a rear naked choke. Charlotte finds her way out using a jawbreaker, tries for the Figure Eight, Paige kicks her away, misses a clothesline and the champion goes to the leg with a chopblock. She pulls the challenger to the ring post and drives her knee into the steel as Team B.A.D. watches from the back, Paige pulling Charlotte into the ring post to escape. She slides in and Paige fires away with heavy rights, delivers a series of superkicks to the midsection, then scores with a running knee in the corner. The challenger slaps a Figure Four on Charlotte, the champion rolls over to reverse the pressure and Paige grabs the bottom rope to force a break.

Charlotte charges her in the corner and runs into a superkick, Paige explodes out and meets a big boot to the face, the champion then climbing to the top rope for a crossbody that gains a count of 2. She delivers a plate of trademark Flair chops to the chest, Paige ducks one, counters into a bridging fisherman’s suplex for 2, then attempts a running knee. The champion catches the leg, spikes Paige with a short DDT and covers, but still can’t put her away. The challenger sneaks in a roll-up for a quick 2, Charlotte avoids a right hand and hits the ropes for a Spear, Paige countering with a knee to the face.

She spikes the champion with the RamPaige, hooks the leg and Flair puts Charlotte’s foot on the bottom rope to stop the count at 2, Paige exchanging words with Flair and trying to tell the official what happened. Charlotte exposes a turnbuckle behind the ref’s back, pulls the challenger face-first into it, makes the cover and gets the 3 count.
Winner and STILL WWE Divas Champion: Charlotte (Exposed Turnbuckle)

• EA’s Take: I think their match at Survivor Series was actually a little bit better, but I like the direction Charlotte’s headed in now. Using her father to help garner heat is going to make her an exceptional heel for the Divas division. Unfortunately with Nikki Bella out, Charlotte could be the only real heel in the division for a while. With all the “We Want Sasha” chants constantly filling arenas, you’d have to think she will be turned babyface at some point here, eventhough her character is much more suited to be a heel. That would leave Charlotte alone at the top of the heap, with Naomi & Tamina being the closest to that spot, but still not even close to the level Charlotte’s at.

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